The Kingdom of God - WKFL



4. Students understand that God offers salvation through Christ who models how to live in a truly human way.

7. Students know and appreciate the values of Christ and those of his Gospel as the basis for living out the Christian mission in the world.

The Kingdom of God

The New Testament opens with John the Baptist proclaiming "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Mt. 3:2).  We are told that when Jesus began His public ministry His message was, "The Kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15).  Yet nowhere in the Old Testament can we find the phrase "Kingdom of God" or "Kingdom of Heaven."  So what did those who heard John and Jesus understand them to be saying?

The purpose of this lesson is to examine the Jewish concept of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven at the time of John and Jesus.

1. The following OT scriptures assert that _________________ was/is Israel’s King.

a. … you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,' although the LORD your God was your king.   1 Sam 12:12

b. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.   Psalms 24:10

c. … The LORD is our king; He will save us--  Isaiah 33:22

d. … The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more.  Zeph 3:15

2. These scriptures establish His rule over __________________________.

a. "I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King."   Isaiah 43:15

b. (see also Is. 33:22 in Question #1c and 2 Kings 19:15a in Question #3a)

3. These scriptures confirm His reign extends to include ______________________.

a. …O LORD, the God of Israel … Thou art the God, Thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. …  2 Kings 19:15

b. For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth.   Psalms 47:2

c. For the kingdom is the LORD 's, And He rules over the nations.  Psalms 22:28

d. For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth.   Psalms 47:2

4. In these verses, the King is pictured as possessing a _______________________.

a. For Thou hast maintained my just cause; Thou dost sit on the throne judging righteously.   Psalms 9:4

b. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom.   Psalms 45:6

c. God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.   Psalms 47:8

d. ...I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.   Isaiah 6:1

e. Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. …  Isaiah 66:1

5. These verses characterize His reign as _________________________________.

a. The LORD is King forever and ever …  Psalms 10:16

b. The LORD will reign forever, Thy God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!   Psalms 146:10

6. David was Israel’s second king.  He ruled over the United Kingdom as God’s representative.  Read the following prophecies concerning David and his kingdom.  What would the Israelites have understood about David’s reign from these verses?

a. 1 Chronicles 17:7-14

b. 1 Chronicles 22:6-10

c. 2 Chronicles 6:14-17

d. Do you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?   2 Chron 13:5

e. Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant which He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.   2 Chron 21:7

f. Psalm 89:19-37

7. Read the following prophecies recorded during Israel’s invasion and exile.   What hope was fostered in these verses?

a. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;  And the government will rest on His shoulders;  And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.  Isaiah 9:6-7

b. A throne will even be established in lovingkindness, And a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David; Moreover, he will seek justice And be prompt in righteousness.  Isaiah 16:5

c. "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The LORD our righteousness.”   Jer 23:5-6

d. Jeremiah 33:15-26

8. From this limited examination of the OT scriptures, write a brief statement of what you believe the Jewish hearers understood when Jesus and John used the phrase “The Kingdom of God” or “The Kingdom of Heaven.”

9. John (Matt. 3:2) and Jesus (Matt. 4:17; 10:7) both proclaimed that the Kingdom of Heaven/God “is at hand.”  What did they mean?  Consider the following information, and then summarize your conclusions.

a. “Is at hand” is the Greek verb eggizo (Strong’s Greek #1448).  Strong’s Lexicon defines it as, “to bring near, to join one thing to another; to draw or come near to, to approach.”

b. It appears here in the perfect tense and describes an action which is viewed as having been completed in the past, once and for all, not needing to be repeated.  The perfect tense also indicates that this completed action has continuing results.

c. It is in the active voice, meaning the subject performs the action.

d. It is in the indicative mood which is a simple statement of fact.  If an action really occurs or has occurred or will occur, it will be rendered in the indicative mood.

e. Observe how Jesus used the same verb in the following situations:

                                                               i.            And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."   Matt 26:18

                                                             ii.            Then He came to the disciples, and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Arise, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!"   Matt 26:45-46

10. In what sense does Jesus speak about the kingdom in each of the following verses:

a. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.   Matt 12:28

b. Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.   John 18:36

c. Matthew 24-25

Principles for Interpreting Parables

1)      Note the literary setting of the parable in the gospel.  This can provide clues to the overall interpretation of the parable, especially its mood and affective force.

2)      Note the wording, structure, general progression, plot progress, and suspense.  Remember these are stories and need to be read as such.  In this connection it is helpful to note any changes in the same parable in another gospel.

3)      Read the parables in their original historical situation first.  Therefore, nothing should be read out of them that is not consistent with the customs, etc. employed in them and certainly no later reading of theology or church experience should be read into them.  In other words, no global or particular interpretation should be given any “air time” that would not have been understandable to those to whom these parables were first addressed by Jesus or later communicated by the evangelists.  In this way we preserve the distinction between authorial intent (author’s intended meaning) and significance (meaning to me).

4)      Note the main characters/things in the parable and any parallels and or contrasts between them.  The main characters are often clues as to the main points being asserted.

5)      Recognize that there are two audiences being addressed by the parables.  There is first the audience to whom Jesus originally spoke, e.g., the Scribes and Pharisees, and the audience of the early church to whom the evangelists addressed their writings.  A different audience signifies a slightly different function for the parables and thus little different emphasis in interpretation.

6)      Avoid over-allegorizing and note carefully what occurs at the end of a parable as a (the) clue to the meaning of the parable.  This is called the rule of “end stress.”

7)      Seek to place the teaching of the parable in the overall ministry of Jesus and His teaching as a whole.  In this way, it will be seen that most of His parables deal with the kingdom of God, either its inauguration or consummation, and discipleship within the present phase of the kingdom in expectation of the consummation.

8)      Through continued prayer, meditation, and seeking, discern the meaning of the parable for the original hearers and its significance for you.  State the major theme and variations in sentences.  Prayerfully respond.

Kingdom Parables Worksheet #1

The Parables of the Unshrunk Cloth and the Wineskins

|Matt 9:14-17 |Mark 2:18-22 |Luke 5:33-39 |

|14 Then the disciples of John * came to |18 And John's disciples and the Pharisees |33 And they said to Him, "The disciples of|

|Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees |were fasting; and they * came and * said |John often fast and offer prayers; the |

|fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" |to Him, "Why do John's disciples and the |disciples of the Pharisees also do the |

|15 And Jesus said to them, "The attendants|disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your |same; but Yours eat and drink." 34 And |

|of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as |disciples do not fast?" 19 And Jesus said |Jesus said to them, "You cannot make the |

|the bridegroom is with them, can they? But|to them, "While the bridegroom is with |attendants of the bridegroom fast while |

|the days will come when the bridegroom is |them, the attendants of the bridegroom do |the bridegroom is with them, can you? |

|taken away from them, and then they will |not fast, do they? So long as they have |35 "But the days will come; and when the |

|fast. 16 "But no one puts a patch of |the bridegroom with them, they cannot |bridegroom is taken away from them, then |

|unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the |fast. 20 "But the days will come when the |they will fast in those days." 36 And He |

|patch pulls away from the garment, and a |bridegroom is taken away from them, and |was also telling them a parable: "No one |

|worse tear results. 17 "Nor do men put new|then they will fast in that day. 21 "No |tears a piece from a new garment and puts |

|wine into old wineskins; otherwise the |one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an |it on an old garment; otherwise he will |

|wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, |old garment; otherwise the patch pulls |both tear the new, and the piece from the |

|and the wineskins are ruined; but they put|away from it, the new from the old, and a |new will not match the old. 37 "And no one|

|new wine into fresh wineskins, and both |worse tear results. 22 "And no one puts |puts new wine into old wineskins; |

|are preserved."  (NASB) |new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the|otherwise the new wine will burst the |

| |wine will burst the skins, and the wine is|skins, and it will be spilled out, and the|

| |lost, and the skins as well; but one puts |skins will be ruined. 38 "But new wine |

| |new wine into fresh wineskins."  (NASB) |must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 "And |

| | |no one, after drinking old wine wishes for|

| | |new; for he says, 'The old is good |

| | |enough.'"   (NASB) |

 

1. Note the literary setting of these parables in each of the gospels.  What prompted the parables?  What clues does the setting provide for interpreting the parables, especially their mood and affective force?

2. Note any differences in the gospel accounts.

3. What are the main things in each parables? 

4. Note the following background information.  Consider how Jesus’ first hearers would have understood these parables in light of this information.

“John, in his ministry, displayed an austerity and humble repentance (Matthew 3:1-4) which John’s disciples imitated, showing their own proper humility in light of their own sin and the sin of their people. The Pharisees also fasted (often twice a week, according to Luke 18:12), but not out of humble repentance. They often fasted from a desire to impress themselves and others with their spirituality (Matthew 6:16-18)” (Guzik, David. “Commentary on Matthew 9” ).

“By using the figure of a wedding (the bridegroom), Jesus draws on a powerful picture among the Jews. During the weeklong wedding celebration, rabbis declared that joy was more important than observing religious rituals. Rabbis known in the days of Jesus declared that if the observance of any law came in the way of having a good time during a wedding, you didn’t have to keep the law. You could just go and have a good time” (Guzik, David. “Commentary on Mark 2.” ).

“[Jesus] speaks of the danger of sewing a new patch on an old garment. The word used means that the new cloth was still undressed; it had never been shrunk; so when the garment got wet in the rain the new patch shrunk, and being much stronger than the old, it tore the old apart” (Barclay, William. Daily Study Bible, New Testament. Westminster John Knox Press. 1975. [CD-ROM]).

 “’New wine’ was unfermented grape juice. ‘Wineskins’ were the skins of goats sewn to form leather bottles. Fresh skins were used with the new crop, for as the wine fermented and gasses formed, old skins would burst” (Richards, Lawrence O. The Victor Bible Background Commentary, NT. Wheaton: Victor Books. 1994. [CD-ROM]).

 

5. What occurs at the end of each parable?  What light does this shed on the meaning of the parable?

6. What do you think Jesus was communicating about the Kingdom of God by these parables? 

 

The following commentary is offered for your consideration:

The metaphor communicates important truth. Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom, like His revelation of Himself as Messiah, simply does not fit the categories contemporary Judaism had developed in its study of the Old Testament. Jesus’ teaching is new, and it requires Israel to develop new ways of thinking to contain it. Unless the old categories are abandoned, they will be shattered, and Jesus’ teaching will be spilled on the ground. Then neither the old skins nor the new wine will do Israel any good (Richards).

 

7. Finally, what do you think is the significance of the parables for you? 

 

 

The following commentaries are offered for your consideration:

 

There is a lesson here for us too. Our theological categories must never be given the same authority as Scripture. As each generation faces new challenges, we must return to God’s Word, asking the Spirit to open our hearts and minds to new ways of understanding and applying His truth (Richards).

There comes a time when the day of patching is over, and re-creating must begin. In the time of Luther it was not possible to patch up the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church; the time for reformation had come. In the time of John Wesley, for Wesley at least, the time for patching the Church of England was done. He did not want to leave it, but in the end he had to, for only a new fellowship would suffice. It may well be that there are times when we try to patch, when what is wanted is the complete abandonment of the old and the acceptance of something new. ... "Don't," says Jesus, "let your mind become like an old wineskin. People say of wine, 'The old is better.' It may be at the moment, but they forget that it is a mistake to despise the new wine, for the day will come when it has matured and it will be best of all" (Barclay).

“Jesus’ point was made clear by these examples. You can’t fit His new life into the old forms. … The religious establishment of any age is not necessarily pleasing to Jesus. Sometimes it is in direct opposition to, or at least resisting His work.  Jesus came to introduce something new, not to patch up something old. This is what salvation is all about. In doing this, Jesus doesn’t destroy the old (the law), but He fulfills it, just as an acorn is fulfilled when it grows into an oak tree. There is a sense in which the acorn is gone, but its purpose is fulfilled in greatness” (Guzik, David.  “Commentary on Mark 2.” ).

 

8. In light of this lesson, why do you think it is important for Christians to pursue an understanding of the Kingdom of God?  What difference do you expect this study to make in your life?

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